Why are so many British people interested in historical television programs like Downton Abbey (《唐顿庄园》)? Maybe because they want to see how both rich and poor people lived years ago. Or is it because they like looking at the beautiful buildings people lived in the country houses?

Downton Abbey is not a real place, but the house they used for the program is real. Highclere Castle in the south of England was a castle (城堡) 900 years ago, but in the 19th century, people changed it into a house.

Why did people build country houses? Probably because they wanted other people to see how much money they had. These houses often had lots of furniture (家具), paintings and servants (仆人) to cook, clean, and look after the family.

But as we know from the story of Downton, the money of the families who lived in these houses did not last.

Today, many country houses are open to anyone. People pay money to take a look inside. Some of the houses were sold and became hospitals, schools, hotels, and even prisons (监狱). And some are used for making films and TV programs like Downton Abbey.

3 . You may know the English letters A, B, C, but do you know there are people called “ABC”? You may like eating bananas, but do you know there are people called “banana people”? If you don’t know, I will tell you about them. They are some Chinese people like you and me, but they aren’t in China. Why do people call them like that?

If we call somebody an “ABC”, we mean he or she is a Chinese person but was born in America. Sometimes, people also call them “banana people”. A banana is yellow outside and white inside. So if somebody is a “banana person”, he or she is “white” inside and “yellow” outside. By saying that, we mean he or she has yellow skin (皮肤) but does things in an American way. “Banana people” were born in America and they live in America for a long time, so they think like Americans and do things like Americans. However, these people still have Chinese blood (血统). Their parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents are from China. They all have black eyes and black hair, so they look like us, Chinese people.

There are many famous “banana people” in America. They do very well in America and they are really great in their own fields.

4 . Bill is from Australia. He lives in Sydney. He can speak French and English, but he can’t speak Chinese. He has a pen pal in the United States. Her name is Lisa and she lives in New York. Bill’s favorite sport is basketball and he can play the guitar. Lisa’s favorite sport is tennis. She can’t play the guitar, but she can play the piano and sing very well.

All around the world, people drink tea. But in different countries, people have very different ideas about drinking tea.

In China, for example, people always serve (提供) the tea when people get together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at home or in teahouses. They like to drink plain tea (素茶) best.

Tea is very important in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea called the “tea ceremony (仪式)”. It is very old and full of meaning. People do everything in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in Japanese homes.

Another tea drinking country is England, and the late afternoon is people’s “teatime”. Almost everyone has a cup of tea then. The British usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with milk and sugar. They also eat cakes, chocolate and a few candies at teatime.

In the United States people drink tea mostly for breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. It is fast and easy to use tea bags to make tea. In summer, many Americans drink “iced tea”.

Have you ever heard of netball? It is a team sport which is similar to both basketball and handball.

Netball was first played in England in 1895 at Madame Ostenburg’s College. In the first half of the 20th century, Netball’s popularity continued to grow, with the game being played in many countries, it is particularly popular in Australia and New Zealand. In 1995 Netball became a “recognized” sport of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and one of the International Netball Federation’s goals is to encourage the IOC to include netball in the Olympic Games Programme in the future.

There are seven players on each team and they each wear a bib (号码布) which shows the name of the position they play. Players must throw the ball to one another and the aim of the game is to pass the ball to the “Goal Shooter” or “Goal Attack” who can shoot the ball into the net to score a goal. However, the key rules of netball are that you cannot bounce (拍) the ball and you cannot move your feet when you have the ball. This is called the footwork rule and it can be quite difficult to grasp (掌握) for young children playing the game! A full match lasts for one hour and in a single match often about 100 goals are scored which shows what a fast-paced and exciting game netball is!

Netball is typically played by women and girls. However, at many universities, there are mixed netball leagues (联赛) in which teams must have both male and female players.

In the UK, there are many different ways to try to attract women to play netball. One such plan is called “Back to Netball” which encourages women who have not played netball since they were at school to rediscover their love for the sport and get back on the court! Walking Netball is another variation (变化形式) of the sport aimed at older women and those who want to exercise in a gentler way. So, why not watch a video of netball online and then have a go for yourself?

7 . Hello, boys and girls! I’m Helen. The Student Art Festival starts in our middle school. Today is December 13th. There is a photo show. Students take many photos. All of them are great. I love one of the photos a lot. It’s a photo of a big family. It’s named “Happy Birthday, Grandpa!” I think this student must have a happy family, just like me.

In the next two weeks, we have other fun things—the talent show, Chinese painting show and the DIY show. I like the talent show very much. The talent show is on the afternoon of December 19th. My classmate Tony and I will play the piano in the show. Our parents will come and watch the show. I hope we can do well. Do you have time? Please come and watch our show.

8 . John is from New York. His home is near the school. So he often goes to school by bike. Every day it takes him about fifteen minutes to get there. He always gets to school on time.

Mary is a student of a middle school in Tokyo. The school is far from her home. Every day she has to go to school by subway. It takes her about forty minutes. She often gets up very early because she doesn’t want to be late for school. She is a good student. Jenny’s home is in London. It is far from her school. She usually goes to school by bus. This kind (种类) of bus has two floors (两层). It takes her an hour every day. She must get up very early every morning. She often gets to school early.

Tom is a student of a middle school in Iceland (冰岛). There is snow (大雪) all year round. So he usually goes to school by sledge (雪橇). It takes about twenty minutes to get there. He is sometimes late for school.

9 . In many English homes people eat four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.

People have breakfast at any time from seven to nine in the morning. They eat porridge, eggs or bread. English people drink tea or coffee at breakfast. Lunch comes at one o’clock. Afternoon tea is from four to five in the afternoon and dinner is about half past seven. First they have soup, and then they have meat or fish with vegetables. After that they eat some other things, like bananas, apples or oranges.

But not all English people eat like that. Some of them have their dinner in the middle of the day. Their meals are breakfast, dinner, tea and supper and all these meals are very necessary.